At this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia Siemens Networks is launching a series of new products, upgrades and services for mobile broadband operators. Areas of focus include its new Flexi Zone architecture for addressing street level small cell deployment challenges.

Also as part of its small cells offering, Nokia Siemens Networks will exhibit its new indoor enterprise and public HSPA+ and LTE Femtocells.

Qualcomm and Nokia Siemens Networks will be showcasing how operators can get more out of their 900 MHz re-farmed GSM spectrum with Dual Band-Dual Cell HSPA+ that enables higher data rates of up to 42 Mbps.

Nokia Siemens Networks will also be showing a VoLTE call running both on a commercially available network and on a virtualized IMS and TAS (telecommunication application server).

NSN will demonstrate how the SON (self organizing network) Operations Manager provides detailed views, control, coordination and prioritization for all simultaneously active SON functions while protecting packet core network from load peaks and potentially saving up to 30% in total cost of ownership expenditure.

In addition to locating a grandmaster clock at or near the edge, the platforms can be used to overlay the network with advanced boundary clocks at specific locations. Support covers both LTE-TDD and LTE-A, which have stringent requirements for frequency and phase synchronization.

In frequency synchronized networks (LTE-FDD, as well as 2G/3G), Edge Master Clocks can be deployed to eliminate timing issues caused by the backhaul network and high packet delay (PDV) environments inherent in Carrier Ethernet networks.

Multi-sync capability ensures service continuity in the event of loss of one or more of the primary sync signals or the GNSS signal is compromised.

The solution is also optimized for deployment in small to large networks with license options supporting between 8 and 64 base stations and/or small cells, allowing for network scalability.

“Small cells synchronization is a multi-faceted challenge and requires an innovative approach,” said Manish Gupta, vice president of marketing and business development for Symmetricom. The TimeProvider 2700 and 2300 Edge Master Clocks are specifically designed to meet the
scalability, performance, reliability and cost requirements for synchronizing small cells at the
edge of the mobile network.”

“Small cells are necessary to increase capacity and coverage required by data hungry customers who continue to consume data as a part of their mobile lifestyles,” said Dror Nemirovsky, Head of Packet Networks, Nokia Siemens Networks. “The Symmetricom Edge Master Clocks complement the investment our customers have made in the TimeProvider 5000 and enable Nokia Siemens Networks to serve operator requirements for increased network performance as they deploy LTE.”

Fujitsu's LTE-focused multiband transceivers have been certified in multiple regions with multiple operators. These transceivers are deployed by multiple baseband providers worldwide, because they support the entire frequency range of 700 to 2700 MHz, function in all modes of operation, and support a high number of simultaneous bands and modes in a single product configuration, covering almost any operator's needs for domestic use and global roaming.

Qualcomm's RF front end solution includes the first envelope power tracker for 3G/4G LTE mobile devices, a dynamic antenna matching tuner, an integrated power amplifier-antenna switch, and 3D-RF packaging incorporating key front end components.

“The wide range of radio frequencies used to implement 2G, 3G and 4G LTE networks globally presents an ongoing challenge for mobile device designers. Where 2G and 3G technologies each have been implemented on four to five different RF bands globally, the inclusion of LTE brings the total number of cellular bands to approximately 40,” said Alex Katouzian, senior vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Our new RF devices are tightly integrated and will allow us the flexibility and scalability to supply OEMs of all types, from those requiring only a region-specific LTE solution, to those needing LTE global roaming support.”

At Mobile World Congress, Huawei and Qualcomm will demonstrate a Scalable UMTS solution that improves spectrum utilization by using a half bandwidth channel. Many mobile operators are looking to re-farm their GSM 900MHz spectrum. However, more than half of these operators own less than 5 MHz bandwidth of contiguous spectrum.

Huawei and Qualcomm said their Scalable UMTS helps this movement to spectrum re-farming.

Huawei and Qualcomm have successfully completed end-to-end testing of a Scalable UMTS prototype in November 2012 at Huawei’s Shanghai laboratory facilities. The testing showed that Scalable UMTS in a half-bandwidth channel provides the same spectral efficiency as normal UMTS.

“We are working with Huawei to drive the UMTS/HSPA evolution and commercial deployment of Scalable UMTS,” said Samir Soliman, Vice President of Technology at Qualcomm Research, Qualcomm Technologies’ R&D division. “As part of Qualcomm’s 1000x initiative to address the wireless industry’s unprecedented data demand, Scalable UMTS was designed to help operators maximize the data capacity and value of their existing spectrum. With varied use cases of Scalable UMTS, this band-agnostic technology is beneficial to both emerging and developed regions. In emerging regions of the world, Scalable UMTS can accelerate GSM re-farming, whereas in developed regions, the technology enables efficient utilization of spectrum resources.”

Scalable UMTS is currently a 3GPP Release 12 study item and will be commercially available from Huawei.

Based on the Canopy point-to-multipoint (PMP) 450 platform, the GIGATOWER enables service providers to further expand capacity to existing customers and offer high capacity broadband to new customers in urban, suburban and rural environments. The PMP 450's modular design allows the GIGATOWER to provide more than 1 gigabit of broadband capacity and extend coverage area to more than 75 square miles (120 square kilometers).

Canopy, which was originally developed under Motorola, has an installed base of four million modules worldwide.

"The PMP 450 and new GIGATOWER offer the ability to deploy in greenfield locations or to overlay existing DSL footprint with a solution that delivers HD video and IPTV, voice and data services at a cost point that truly changes broadband economics," said Jay Hilbert, senior vice president of Global Sales, Cambium Networks. "We are also introducing an entirely new architecture, the PTP-C ™, (Point-to-Point Cluster) for small cell backhaul among other applications. It's our more than 10 years' experience as the wireless IP market leader and our deep engineering expertise in NLoS and interference mitigation that have enabled us to redefine the function and form factor that will revolutionize how small cell backhaul will be deployed in years to come."

Tarana Wireless, a start-up based in Santa Clara, California, is showcasing its new "AbsoluteAir" wireless backhaul solution for supporting small cell deployments in both non–line of sight (NLoS) and line–of–sight (LoS) operation.

Tarana features a unique Concentrating Multipoint (CMP) architecture that delivers a full 75 Mbps backhaul capacity to each small cell and enables the number of links to scale as data demand grows, without degrading per–link capacity. The AbsoluteAir product line consists of Concentrator Nodes (CNs), End Nodes (ENs), and an Element Management System (EMS). Each EN connects directly via Ethernet to a small cell providing it with a full 75 Mbps dedicated backhaul capacity. The CN aggregates links for up to four ENs providing 300 Mbps capacity in a single 10 MHz channel – delivering spectral efficiency of 30 bits per second per hertz. A CN may be co–located with a macro cell where direct access to high capacity connectivity to the carrier’s core network is readily available. By leveraging existing carrier sites for CN installations, significant ongoing operating cost benefits are realized.

Tarana leverages advanced signal processing algorithms to optimize link performance. The company says it is able to deliver the full data rate on every link even in dense small cell deployments at a range of 2–4km in NLoS, and practically unconstrained in LoS operation.

Each link utilizes the same 10 MHz channel while maintaining full link capacity. The company is supporting licensed and lightly licensed TDD bands from 2.5–3.7 GHz,

Tarana's AbsoluteAir antenna has a 100° aperture that dynamically aligns, eliminating time–consuming alignment during both setup and ongoing operation. The company says this enables deployment of individual nodes in just 15 minutes.

“AbsoluteAir was designed to meet requests from global carriers for a cost effective backhaul solution that could be easily and quickly deployed anywhere and everywhere across a metro area, without compromising on performance or scalability. I am happy to report that recent urban network tests confirm that our target specifications have been achieved” said Sergiu Nedevschi, executive vice president, chief product officer, and co–founder, Tarana Wireless.

Boeing said the acquisition would help protect warfighters from information-assurance attacks

Acalis will be integrated into Boeing Military Aircraft's Global Strike division. The Acalis business employs approximately 40 people and is based in Pleasanton, California.

"Acalis provides security-on-a-chip that can help defend the manned and unmanned aircraft we build at Boeing today and in the future for customers around the world," said Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing Military Aircraft. "With these processors onboard, warfighters can complete their missions and not be sidelined by malware, cloning and other cyber threats against the aircraft's systems."

Junichi Miyakawa, Executive Vice President, Director & CTO of SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp., says: "The data volume explosion is particularly evident in Japan, where we have densely populated cities with users who are early adopters of technology. We are implementing the most appropriate equipment to ensure that we have the network capacity required to deliver the best possible user experience, and the SSR 8000 family of products is a highly scalable solution."

Jan Signell, President of Ericsson Japan K.K., says: "We have a great working relationship with SOFTBANK MOBILE as its sole supplier of core network and packet network equipment, and we're very happy to be able to continue to supply the equipment it needs to meet its subscribers' demands. The data explosion is both an opportunity and a challenge, and we're committed to ensuring that it benefits everyone."

Alcatel-Lucent’s Board of Directors named Michel Combes as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2013.

Previously, Michel Combes (51) was CEO of Vodafone Europe and a Board member of Vodafone PLC. During his career, he has held the positions of Chairman and CEO of TDF as well as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Executive Vice President of France Telecom.

"Alcatel-Lucent is an unrivalled technology leader in the telecommunications industry with an immense array of talent and capabilities in R&D facing major challenges. This is a company I know well and I look forward to succeeding Ben, working with the key international customers, and driving the business into sustained profitability for its customers, employees and shareholders," Michel stated Combes.

Effective immediately, Alcatel-Lucent’s Board of Directors also approved the appointment of Jean C. Monty as Vice-Chairman of the Board. Monty (64) previously held numerous positions in Bell Canada Enterprises. He joined Nortel Networks in October 1992 as President and Chief Operating Officer before being nominated President and CEO in March 1993. On April 24, 2002, Mr. Monty, then Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Bell Canada Enterprises, retired after a 28-year career.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Building on its carrier SDN announcement in January, Juniper Networks outlined the next steps it will take to bring the power and efficiency of virtualization to mobile packet cores.

Juniper's strategy relies in part on its JunosV App Engine, a specialized hypervisor that will deployed on its key networking elements as well as on commodity compute hardware. The JunosV App Engine will enable virtualized networking functions, including signaling and control (SGSN/MME) for LTE, 3G and 2G radio access networks. Juniper will also deliver an SDN controller leveraging technology from its recent acquisition of Contrail.

Juniper Networks Services Activation Director -- combines five applications into one to enable service providers to provision thousands of seamless services in a fraction of the time, including MPLS and Carrier Ethernet for mobile backhaul. The Services Activation Director, along with other Junos Space applications, will be available for purchase in the first half of 2013 through Juniper Software Advantage, which allows the software to transfer to any network element with which it operates

Juniper Networks Mobile Control Gateway -- a virtualized function running on the JunosV App Engine, providing signaling and control (SGSN/MME) functions to the LTE, 3G and 2G radio access networks. As a virtualized network function, mobile operators can now rapidly scale up and down capacity to meet variable demand requirements. Now shipping.

Juniper Networks JunosV App Engine -- centralizes the development, provisioning and management of both Juniper Networks and third-party applications on a common platform. This platform also enables customers to grow the compute, memory and processing resource needed for cloud-based applications and services attached specifically to the MX edge router. Customers and partners, such as Hitachi, have already built applications on this platform. Now shipping.

New SRX line cards for the SRX5600 and 5800 Series Services Gateway. The SRX Series collapses the security gateway, firewall, switching, and routing layers onto a single platform,. The new line cards support up to 100 million concurrent sessions and up to 200 Gbps of firewall throughput with a single SRX Services Gateway.

In January 2013, Juniper Networks outlined a four-step roadmap to software-defined networking with the goal of improving automation and agility in data centers and across service provider networks.

A key part of Juniper's SDN strategy involves the concept of "Service Chaining" whereby an SDN controller is used to virtually insert services into the flow of network traffic. The company sees SDN extending all the way across all domains of the network: Core, Edge, Access & Aggregation, Data Center, WAN, Campus & Branch. Juniper's SDN roadmap initially targets two of these areas -- the Service Provider Edge and the Data Center.

Pradeep Sindhu, Juniper's CTO and Founder, said the company has always believed in open standards. Juniper is supporting OpenFlow in routers and switches this year. The company has also partnered with Big Switch and others in the SDN space. However, Sindhu described OpenFlow as an early protocol that needs to evolve, and probably not the most important one for SDN.

Juniper is enabling the SDN virtualization with existing protocols, including BGP, thereby enabling the existing routing and switching infrastructure to participate in the SDN transformation. Juniper will adopt the OpenStack model as its primary orchestration system and will work with others including VMware and IBM.

It is still early days in SDN and Juniper believes the adoption of this technology will be gradual over many years. One significant change will be the way network software is delivered. Juniper is introducing a new software licensing and maintenance model that allows the transfer of software licenses between Juniper devices and industry-standard x86 servers.

Juniper's Four Step Roadmap

Step 1: Centralize network management, analytics and configuration functionality to provide a single master that configures all networking devices.

Step 2: Extract networking and security services from the underlying hardware by creating service virtual machines (VMs). This enables network and security services to independently scale using industry-standard x86 hardware based on the needs of the solution.

Step 3: Introduce a centralized controller that enables multiple network and security services to connect in series across devices within the network using "SDN Service Chaining" – using software to virtually insert services into the flow of network traffic. The SDN Service Chaining will be introduced in 2014 utilizing the SDN controller technology acquired from Contrail Systems, together with the evolution of the JunosV App Engine.

Step 4: Optimize the usage of network and security hardware to deliver high performance. Specifically, Juniper's MX Series and SRX Series products will evolve to support software-based Service Chaining architecture.

The BridgeWave Flex4G leverages exclusive Silicon Germanium RF technology to deliver line-rate, full-duplex 1Gbps in an ETSI-standard, single 250 MHz channel using only 32QAM modulation, with improved link budgets compared to other solutions using 64QAM. The product offers a built-in low-latency switch and supports Carrier-Ethernet functionality with flexible Quality of Service, VLAN awareness, Provider Bridging, Congestion Management and Ring Protection. Carrier-Ethernet capabilities are further enhanced by comprehensive Ethernet OAM management and advanced timing through support of SyncE and 1588v2.

“The holy grail in MMW backhaul has been the combination of high capacity in a lightly utilized and licensed frequency band with a cost structure comparable to that of traditional microwave products”, said Amir Makleff, president and CEO of BridgeWave Communications. “Flex4G achieves this mission based on BridgeWave’s highly integrated Silicon Germanium, mQFN packaging and digital signal processing technologies.”

Orange, Ericsson and Qualcomm have demonstrated the use of L-band frequencies (1452-1492 MHz) as a supplemental downlink technology on a mobile network.

The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administration has decided to harmonize use of the L-band, reserving it specifically for supplemental downlink technology.

The demonstration was carried out on Orange's network in Toulouse, France, on 21 February 2013. The trial system, which uses L-band frequencies for testing, was authorized by the French telecoms regulator, Arcep, in June 2012. The system combines L-band frequencies in the downlink mode with traditional 2.1 GHz frequencies owned by Orange to boost downlink capacity. The trial network uses radio base stations supplied by Ericsson and devices equipped with Qualcomm chipsets.

Ericsson said supplemental downlink technology represents a significant step forward in traditional spectrum aggregation systems that are already used for HSPA+ and LTE networks by the 3GPP standardization group.

“Big Data is no a longer a problem unique to enterprise data centers. Mobile carriers are now facing a deluge of traffic in their pipes, from an increasingly mobile workforce and the proliferation of smart devices and applications. Mobile carriers must have the capacity to connect pipes to individual analytics tools at the network core and concentration points, to ensure accurate data processing and analysis, as they have already invested a tremendous amount into their existing tools. Gigamon’s technology uniquely provides the necessary volume, port density and scale that enables each tool to function at maximum efficiency whilst keeping monitored traffic off the production network, saving the carrier significant costs that translate into cost savings for the subscriber,” said Andy Huckridge, director of Service Provider Solutions at Gigamon.

The carrier is looking to accelerate the deployment of base stations, especially in high-traffic areas such as train stations and large commercial facilities, for significantly improved data capacity and throughput.

The new C-RAN architecture will enable small "add-on" cells for localized coverage to cooperate with macro cells that provide wider area coverage. This will be achieved with carrier aggregation technology, one of the main LTE-Advanced technologies standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

High-capacity base stations utilizing advanced C-RAN architecture will serve as master base stations both for multiple macro cells covering broad areas and for add-on cells in smaller, high-traffic areas. The base stations will accommodate up to 48 macro and add-on cells at launch and even more later. Carrier aggregation will be supported for cells served by the same base station, enabling the flexible deployment of add-on cells. In addition, maximum downlink throughput will be extendible to 3Gbps, as specified by 3GPP standards.
Docomo estimates that the small add-on cells will significantly increase throughput and system capacity while maintaining mobility performance provided by the macro cell.